Just Me and the Dolphins

Another blog bites the dust. Clayfin is bidding a fond farewell to the surf blogosphere. The irony of his announcement is that I've been rethinking my "blog till I die" attitude of late. Part of me wants to call it quits while the other part tells me to simply suffer through those moments of blogging weariness. First Whiff, now Clay. The rest of you better not leave me alone out here. (And you know who you are!)

I can't say much for this NW swell. Its direction is giving much of Southern California a fit. On Saturday, I was in the O.C. trying to surf closeouts. Today I was met with the same conditions (except that the waves were somewhat smaller). I started out the day at my new favorite spot. It looked pretty pathetic. That I didn't mind so much. I just couldn't get over the number of people in the water in such crappy conditions. There's no need to surf in a crowd when you can find the same conditions at an empty beach a few miles away.

There was no one at the home break when I paddled out. Perfect, especially when you're surfing without a leash in conditions that one of my friends described as "dumpy". There wasn't much out there. I sat around as much as I paddled for or caught waves. But I did get a visit from two pods of dolphins. Mothers, babies, fathers. Any time I'm in the presence of dolphins I consider my session a success. I caught my share of the dumpy waves, both before and after other folks joined me in the water. No leash. No booties. No gloves. Someone once suggested, in a comment on this blog, that I'm trying to be a soul surfer. Well, no, I just don't like neoprene. I can't surf without a wetsuit, but I can survive the So Cal waters without anything else.